Geneticists have identified five distinct multigenerational family groups from the DNA of the 46 burials from Leubingen. The DNA of the 'prince' is unobtainable. His burial stands apart from all the others due to the prominence of the tumulus and its rich contents. By comparison the rest of the burials were clearly of the non-elite mass. Nevertheless a social hierarchy can still be distinguished from the siting of the common burials and their juxtaposition to the princely burial as well as the individual grave goods. By way of illustration I shall use my own 13 DNA sample matches from these burials.
| A — R1b‑L2 | LEU060, LEU041 | Paternal family |
| B — R1b‑P312/U152/L151 | LEU024, LEU025, LEU040 | Extended paternal clan |
| C — R1a‑Z645 | LEU031, LEU009 | Paternal family |
| D — U5/V7/H2b | LEU046, LEU039, LEU059 | Maternal kin cluster |
| E — T2b11 | LEU050, LEU031 | Maternal family |
| Ungrouped | LEU007, LEU023 | No kinship links |
As you can see from the above table, one of the sample matches (LEU31) appears in two family groups via both his paternal and maternal haplotypes. Two of the sample matches (LEU007 and LEU023) are unrelated to the five families.
Family Group A
The princely grave (Fürstengrab) sits slightly to the north of the centre of the cemetery. Family Group A is situated the closest to the prince (82-115ft away), buried in the northern cluster of graves, indicating that they had the highest status in the community after the prince. My two matches in this group were very closely related, id est father and son, paternal uncle and nephew or paternal half brothers (different mtDNA). As there was a generational difference father-son or uncle-nephew are the more likely relationships. The grave goods of LEU060 included a bronze awl or pin, a small ceramic vessel, some flint tools and remnants of textile or leather. LEU041 was buried with a bronze knife, a ceramic pot, a bone or antler tool and some pins.
Family Group B
This family were located in the central and eastern sectors of the cemetery. Like Family Group A they were located close to the princely tumulus (130-180ft away, not as close as Group A) and enjoyed a mid to high level status, which was slightly less than Group A's.There is some evidence of a decline in status with the later generations. The grave goods of LEU024 included a bronze dagger, a ceramic vessel, a bone or antler tool and some small personal items such as pins. LEU025 was buried with a bronze awl or pin, a small ceramic pot, a stone tool and some textile traces. LEU040 was buried with a bronze knife, a ceramic vessel, a bone implement and some minor personal items. My three DNA matches within this group share a common paternal ancestor but their familial relationships were not as close as Group A's and were more multigenerational. LEU040 is representational of the oldest branch of the paternal lineage of this group. LEU024 and LEU025 had a closer genetic tie but were not as close as brothers. It is likely that they were cousins, uncle-nephew or granduncle-grandnephew. It would be more correct to refer to Family Group B as a 'clan', rather than a nuclear family. This demonstrates that they had a long and established respected local lineage.
Family Group C
My two DNA sample matches in this group shared a common paternal lineage but were not as closely related as Group A. Their likely relationships were either paternal half brothers, paternal cousins, uncle-nephew or granduncle-grandnephew. This group had a modest but respectable social status. The grave goods of LEU031 included a bronze knife, a ceramic vessel, a bone tool and some personal items such as pins. LEU009 was buried with a bronze awl or pin, a ceramic pot,a stone tool and some minor personal items. Group C were buried in the southern cluster of the cemetery, 230-295ft from the Fürstengrab, much more distant than Groups A and B. Both of my matches appear to have moved into the community as adults and had a Corded Ware ancestry (R1a-z645). This makes Family Group C a migrant family.
Family Group D
Unlike groups A,B and C, Family Group D was a maternal kin group. Their relationships were either second degree in nature, id est aunt-niece, grandmother-granddaughter, maternal half-siblings or maternal cousins and third degree, id est first cousins once removed or grandaunt-grandniece. Three of my DNA matches belonged to this group. It would be helpful to break down the individual possible relationships separately.
LEU046-LE039:
Second degree maternal relatives.
LEU046-LEU059:
Third degree maternal relatives.
LEU039-LEU059:
These three women were a maternal kin group, not sharing a direct maternal lineage but extended family of the third or fourth degree.
This family group are clustered together in the western part of the cemetery, associated with the lowest social level and situated 280-360ft from the Fürstengrab. LEU046 was buried with a simple ceramic pot and a bone tool. LEU039 was buried with a small plain ceramic vessel and LEU059 buried with a plain ceramic pot. None of these graves contained any bronze items. Their lack of any expensive grave goods and their burial so far away at the periphery of the cemetery is indicative of being of the lowest social status and being on the margins of the community and lacking a paternal family structure.
Family Group E
This group was buried 200-295ft away from the Fürstengrab in the southern and south-central part of the cemetery and their grave goods are indicative of a middle level status in the local hierarchy.
LEU050 (female) was buried with an undecorated pot, typical of the Unetice culture and functional in purpose, a small bronze pin or awl and a bone tool. LEU031 was part of this family group through his maternal ancestry but was buried with his paternal relatives in the group C cluster.
Ungrouped
My two ungrouped DNA matches were not part of any of the five family groups at Leubingen and were buried on the periphery of the cemetery. LEU07 was buried 295-395 from the Fürstengrab on the north-northwest periphery and his grave consisted of a solitary plain ceramic vessel. These factors indicate that this individual was of a low status. LEU023 was buried 295-395ft from the Fürstengrab on the eastern periphery. His grave goods were likewise very meagre, consisting of a plain ceramic vessel. Like LEU07 this was a low status individual, poor in resources and having no kin, being buried on the very edge of the cemetery, marginal to the society both in life and in death.
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